


well, that just got weird

by spoke



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27204925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoke/pseuds/spoke
Summary: How did the lab go from the state Ford and McGucket left it in, to the wreck the kids found?
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2020





	well, that just got weird

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fencesit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fencesit/gifts).



> Many thanks to my beta, Kairos! This story would definitely have made less sense without your help. Any remaining mistakes are ~~Ford's fault~~ purely my own.

It was always cold in the stupid tube. Too, too cold, and it had been hard to learn to move in the ice. It wasn’t as if he had any choice, after he’d failed to escape the labs. He should’ve just killed the assistant, and then Stanford would never have known.

At least, not in time.

But he didn’t have the energy to escape, and didn’t know a form strong enough to break it while he was frozen. And he had no way to reach the controls that would reverse it. So he did the only thing he could do, and slept.

He’d been sleeping when he first heard noises. Even more importantly, the voice approaching. “Underground lab hidden in the forest? Yeah, this isn’t creepy at all, Ford. Well, let’s see what we got. Something’s gotta be useful down here.” Such an enragingly familiar voice...

But.

Not.

Quite.

Right.

Seething, he listened as the stranger fumbled around just outside the depths of the lab. It wasn’t the six fingered jerk, that one wouldn’t be muttering to himself about his own equipment, but then who else could it be? Unless... “This is too good to be true.” He whispered and stretched.

Always such a pleasant sensation, even if this particular form was disgusting. But if this worked, he’d be able to hunt down its true owner. He just had to hope this one didn’t have a mask on... “Stanley!” He bellowed, choking back his laughter. “Stanley, is that you?!”

“Ford? Where are you? Are you in here somewhere?! I can’t see you!”

“I’m in the second lab, through the decontamination chamber! Hurry, I think one of the experiments is going to get loose!” And that wasn’t a complete lie; the little hatchling had been getting bigger. Though not any smarter, without anyone to teach it anything. He didn’t think he’d seen it copy anything except a centipede or two...

“What is taking you so long, Stanley?! I’m freezing in here!”

“Hey, we’re not all geniuses, genius! I’m doing the best I can! Here’s a thought, maybe you tell me where the door is!” 

He really did have the short temper Stanford had complained about.

If only he’d also complained in detail about the layout of the lab. “You can’t see a simple door?! Really, Stanley-” He cut himself off as finally, finally, the lights went on in the decontamination chamber. “Finally! Stanley, I’ve been stuck in this stupid cryochamber for weeks, where have you been?!” He could almost feel the hunger in his gaze as he waited, hoping he’d be able to complete the image before Stanley saw him, and...

There it was! The smile he couldn’t quite remember, from back when Stanford still thought that he was cute rather than patient. Stanley wasn’t screaming, so he couldn’t have seen.

“Trying to figure out your stupid triangle portal thing, Poindexter! I thought I’d need to open it to get you back!” Stanley kicked the base of the cryochamber, staring at it with far keener eyes than he’d have expected. Probably the damn nerd had underestimated his own blood as badly as he’d underestimated his ‘pet’ shapeshifter. “Now where’s the off switch on this thing?” Stanley muttered, walking as far around as he could.

He snarled while Stanley couldn’t see him, and felt his eyes slipping a little with the rage. But he got them back under control quickly, and exaggerated his shivering. “It’s in the other room, I think. I’m so cold, Stanley, can’t you just let me out? We can talk about everything after that, can’t we?”

...dammit, something was wrong, he could see the suspicion in Stanley’s eyes. He’d never seen that from Stanford!

But he shook himself, like he was waking up from something, and smiled tightly. “Sure! Sure, buddy, let me just find those controls.” He watched eagerly as Stanley walked back through the doors, and smiled as brightly as he could when he looked over his shoulder.

He couldn’t see what was happening on the other side, but he shuddered when he felt the cold start to fade. “Oh thank you, Stanley. Thank you! Now unlock this thing, could you?”

“Yeah... Ford? How long did you say you were stuck there?” He asked.

The tone of voice set his nerves crawling as he fought to hold on to this form just a bit longer. “I... I don’t know, Stanley, it’s hard to think when you’re frozen nearly solid in a cryochamber!”

“Yeah, you’re not my brother.”

“What?” He said, and slammed his hands against the chamber’s front. “What are you saying, Stanley?! You have to let me out of here!”

“No, I really don’t. See, I don’t know who or what you are, but my brother has never been that nice to me. Not even when we were kids! So you’re not Stanford.” There was a short laugh, and lights started flashing in the lab. “Though you sound a hell of a lot like him. So you might be able to tell me a thing or two, help me figure out where he’s gone. You do that, and maybe I’ll let you out.”

And that was it, that was too much. He could feel his form slipping back to its natural state as he screamed loudly enough to almost drown out the scream of his new captor. “I hate that six fingered freak!” He howled, and started hammering at the front of the chamber, shifting forms desperately for something strong enough to get out. “HATE! HATE! HATE!”

“Okay, this is. This is freakier than I expected, here,” Stanley muttered. He could hear Stanley backing away and the sound of... pages turning?! “Gotta be something in here that’s helpful...”

“The journal?! YOU HAVE HIS JOURNAL?!” He roared, and finally the thing shattered, finally he was out! He heard Stanley scream as he charged towards the door of the decontamination chamber, and into it --

\-- and BURNED.

Flailing, screaming, he backed out of the little room. “What is this?! What did he DO?!” He looked around wildly for anything that might be heavy enough to damage the door. There was nothing but little pieces of lab equipment and the furniture, but he had to try!

“Something actually smart, it looks like. For once.” Stanley was breathing heavily, and there was shaking in his voice as he yelled “Shit!” when the chair slammed into the room. “Yeah, you’re not gonna help me, are ya?”

He knew he didn’t sound remotely like a human when he laughed this time, and shifted back to Stanford's form. “Sure I will, brother. Just come inside and I’ll tell you everything...”

“Ugh, stop that! That is the creepiest thing I’ve seen yet, and I have one of his damn journals! Freakshow.” The sound of footsteps started moving away, and the last thing he heard from Stanley was muttering he almost missed. “No way out of here, at least. And it’s not like anyone else will ever come in.”


End file.
